Candidates for Oak Ridge City Council attend political forum

Candidates vying for three seats on the Oak Ridge City Council addressed residents Tuesday at a League of Woman Voters of Oak Ridge-sponsored forum held in Oak Ridge High School.

by Beverly Majors

Candidates vying for three seats on the Oak Ridge City Council addressed residents Tuesday at a League of Woman Voters of Oak Ridge-sponsored forum held in Oak Ridge High School.

Candidates were allowed to make a two-minute opening statement, participate in a question-and-answer session, and end the session with a one-and-a-half-minute closing remark.

Candidates this election season include three incumbents — Ellen Smith, Charlie Hensley and Chuck Hope, who was elected to serve out the term of Tom Hayes who retired earlier this year. The additional two candidates are Trina Baughn and Kelly Callison.

City Council has seven at-large members, including the mayor. Members are elected on a non-partisan basis every two years for a four-year term of office.

In their opening statements, all six candidates introduced themselves, and talked about their backgrounds, community activities, and the reason they’re running for Council.

Smith has lived in Oak Ridge since 1981 and is an environmental scientist at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. She has been on Council since 2007 and has been involved in several city boards and committees for several years. She said her "vision" for Oak Ridge is "a choice place" to live and work.

Hope, an Oak Ridge resident since 1974, is the owner of Chuck's Car Care Center and has been active in the Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce and area sports activities. He said of seeking re-election: "Oak Ridge has given me so many opportunities and provided for my family for over 30 years, I want to make sure that the next generation has those same opportunities."

He said he will focus his energy on growing sales tax revenue.

Hensley has served on Council since 2007 and currently serves on the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission. He also serves on numerous boards in Oak Ridge and Anderson County.

He talked about recent development projects in Oak Ridge and said he is an "advocate for the schools and wants people to continue to come to Oak Ridge because of the schools, but also because we are a vibrant community. My vision — a vibrant city dotted with and surrounded by parks and open space, but we need a plan, and as Yogi Berra said, 'If you don't know where you are going, you probably won't get there.'”

Callison currently serves on the Oak Ridge Municipal Planning Commission and is a member of the East Tennessee Economic Council, the Chamber's task force and the Breakfast Rotary. He served with the U.S. Coast Guard and currently is the chief operating officer at Information International Associates.

If elected, Callison said he would focus on three priorities: "Maintain our excellent schools, expand our retail/commercial/industrial base, and improve our housing."

Baughn, who lost her bid for Hayes' seat in the primary election, talked about the city's debt, budget and property taxes. "With the second-highest property taxes in the area, and the single-highest tax rates in the state for full-service cities, Oak Ridge simply cannot compete.

“We have priced ourselves out of consideration, sight unseen, to new residents and businesses. We cannot afford to continue down this path."

Candidates were similar in many of their answers during the Q&A session, especially when the question was about the costs versus contracted providers as they relate to a full-service city. None of the candidates said they want the Oak Ridge schools to go under county rule and prefer the full-service system of Oak Ridge.

About cutting government expenses, the three incumbents said "cutting is difficult." They talked about "shared services" with the school system as a possible solution.

Callison agreed about shared services, but also said mixed-use facilities could help with expenses. Baughn said, "We can spend less or spend more," stating the city could cut the budget in Community Development

In improving communication with the Oak Ridge Board of Education, Hensley said work sessions between Council and the school board have occurred and are helpful, but the same members of the public show up to each session. He said both entities should publish notes and meeting minutes for the public at an earlier time to give the public longer time to review the facts and issues.

Callison mentioned that social media, more electronic communications, newspapers and “Council’s Night Out” were successful. Baughn also talked about electronic communications, stating, "It's a tremendous opportunity for people to engage in, but elected officials need to respond."

Smith said she would like to find a way to have an online forum for Council without violating the Sunshine Law. "Better chairs in Council meetings," Hope joked, but added that he, too, is in favor of online information.

"Boards and committees are the eyes and ears of the Council."

In regards to Oak Ridge problems, housing was mentioned by three candidates and two incumbents said they preferred the word "challenge" to problem.

"My No. 1 concern is housing," Callison said. "Housing is affecting crime, schools, and bringing new people to the city."

Baughn said the city "is too expensive." And Smith said the city is making progress against crime and the housing situation, but also said "we have to sell ourselves to the region."

Hope said the city has to grow the sales tax revenue to offset other challenges, while Hensley said the challenge is "clearly revenue flow and the debt is a symptom of the flow."

The candidates also discussed school funding issues and the relationship between the city and its county governments.